Not Alone
by annegoddamn
Summary: Mai knew that this was inevitable - they should know the truth. Future timeline - several years before Black appears.


Hello, everyone!

I'll probably be doing more of these one shots, as time goes on. Sometimes they'll be posted at random. Othertimes they'll be posted to sate you guys until the next installment of whatever big fic I'm working on at the moment is posted. Hopefully, this can get me back in the game and mood of writing fanfiction.

Plot inspiration struck me after having a really bad day. There's been a lot of talk (and discourse, bleh) about whether or not Bulma knows who Mai is. In the present timeline, I think she knows and doesn't bring it up because what idiot wouldn't realize that? As for the future timeline, I can see a bit more lineance to that, as she's a lot older and probably hasn't thought about her Dragon Ball hunting days in decades. Plus, it's just Mai by herself - Pilaf and Shu aren't there to connect her with anything. This started as just a confession, but then it evolved into this emotional wreck. It's probably the first time I've ever cried while writing anything (apart from really tedious essays, lol). Not sure if you will too, but either way, enjoy!

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Bulma was in the lab, fixing up some capsules. Later today, Trunks would be heading to the refuge came to deliver food and supplies, so the cargo had to be ready before there. The future had been at relative peace for several years. The androids and Cell were defeated, and another timeline never had to face the horrors of this one. Though there was peace, there was still work to be done. By the end of that year, she hoped that the reconstruction of West City could start up, again.

She heard footsteps coming towards the lab. Through the reflection of the monitor in front of her, she saw Mai enter the lab. She turned around in her chair and smiled at her. "Hi, Mai. Trunks isn't here, right now, but you're welcome to stay until he does."

Mai smiled and nodded, but her eyes looked glazed over. Bulma frowned. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, blinking her eyes rapidly. "Nothing. Everything's fine."

Bulma pushed her chair out and walked over to her. "Sweetheart, you can tell me anything."

She looked away. "I can't. You would hate me."

She held her hands, rubbing them with her thumbs. "Mai, I could never hate you. You are one of the smartest and bravest people I know. Please, don't feel like you have to hide anything."

Mai closed her eyes, and turned her head away. She was so afraid of the consequences. If she knew the truth, she'd never let her see Trunks ever again. Still, she knew it was the right thing to do. Bulma needed to know. "Okay. Is there a place we can sit down? This might take a while."

Bulma and Mai sat down on a couch on the floor above. Bulma made a bit of tea and handed a mug of it to her.

Mai took a deep breath and pushed as much of her apprehension down as she could. "Before all of," she waved one of her hands around, "this happened, I wasn't… a very good person. I never did anything I regret, but I was too selfish, ambitious, and greedy for my own good. I saw a wanted ad for this one guy who wanted to become emperor of the world. I was hard-up for zeni and acclaim, so I took it. It was just me and two others. We had a lot of fun adventures together, looking for the Dragon Balls. It wasn't too fun for us back then, because we never got our wish, but I still look back at those times fondly."

Bulma laughed. "I did that, too. Just me and my old friend, Goku. We had some fun times, together."

She stippled her fingers on her mug. When her chuckling died down, she said, "I know… I was one of the people who tried to get them before you…"

She looked at Mai, who had her eyes glued to her lap. It was then that a moment of recognition hit her. "Oh my. You were one of Pilaf's goons, weren't you?"

She winced, but nodded. Bulma stayed silent, for a while. She was shocked that she didn't recognize her, sooner. She hadn't aged a day since then. Come to think about it, she looked even younger.

Mai knew that she was confused, so she continued. "After the whole debacle with King Piccolo, Pilaf, Shu, and I decided to lay low. We still stuck together like old times, though. We got old, eventually, and wanted to start fresh, again. Pilaf decided to try again and we managed to get the Dragon Balls, again. We wanted to be young again, but the dragon must have remembered how malicious we used to be and turned us into babies. After that, the androids attacked and we went into hiding. Somehow, we managed to survive and grow up, together. Sometimes, I have trouble figuring out how we managed to do it.

"Then, one day, it was my turn to go out and scavenge for food and supplies," her voice started to crack, and tears leaked from corners of her eyes. "When I came back… I couldn't find either of them. All I could find was Pilaf's hat and the hilt of Shu's sword. I searched all over for them for almost a year, but they weren't anywhere. No matter how much I tried to deny it, I knew what happened to them. I wanted to give up so badly. I didn't know what I would do without them. I loved those two so much… I... I can't..."

Mai dropped the mug on the floor, spilling tea everywhere. She put her hands over her face and bawled. Bulma immediately rushed over to her and hugged her. She rubbed her back and rocked her gently. "Shhh. It's okay, Mai. It's okay." Mai continued to sob into her chest and held onto her lab coat, tightly.

She hiccupped. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I never told you. I was so scared that you would hate me for everything I did to you, before."

"Mai, look at me," Bulma said, in a serious voice. Mai reluctantly raised her head and looked at her. "I meant what I said, before: I could never hate you. I know you did some bad things, in the past. But what's in the past is in the past. You clearly aren't the same person you were, back then. It happens with all of us. I was really cruel and selfish, when I was a teenager. I was so conceited and confrontational. Don't even get me started on Trunks' father. People change. And I understand that."

Mai's eyes were wide. "You're not mad at me?"

She smiled at her. "Of course, I'm not mad. I understand why you kept that a secret. I wouldn't be very outspoken about it, either."

She sighed, in relief. A huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. At least she didn't have to try and hide who she was, anymore.

"Is that why you were so down, when you came in? Because you thought I'd hate you?"

She shook her head. "No. Around this time of the year… I lost Pilaf and Shu, all those years ago. It's always a tough few months to get through."

Bulma pulled her back into a hug. "No matter what, I'm always here if you want to talk. Thank you for telling me this. I know it must be rough."

Mai hugged back. "It is, but I always try to remember all the good times we had, together. I know they wouldn't want me wallowing around forever."

"I'm sure they wouldn't. But just know that it's always all right to let it out, every now and again. You can't keep it bottled up, forever."

She nodded, and hugged her tighter. Now that Bulma knew, she wouldn't be keeping it a secret anymore.

Trunks entered the front door, looking around for his mother. When she saw her hugging Mai, he smiled. He was so happy that she liked her and accepted her being around. Mai was the first person he connected with, ever since he got back from the other timeline. He hadn't felt this deeply about someone since the days he was training with Gohan. She could make his day brighter just by being with him.

Bulma looked up and saw her son standing in the doorway. "Trunks. There you are. I have your supplies all ready, downstairs. I just need to capsulate them. Can you give me a few minutes?"

He nodded. "Sure, mother."

She let go of Mai, sat up from the couch, and went back downstairs to the lab. Her excuse was only partially true – she just wanted to give Mai and Trunks some time to be together. She thought that she was the best thing to happen to her son since he returned from the other timeline.

Trunks sat down next to Mai. "Hey. You stopped by early."

She looked down at the spilled tea, and put the fallen mug back on the table.

He frowned. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. It's just…" she paused, and finally looked at him. His frown deepened when he saw how red her eyes looked. "I told your mom the truth."

"Oh… how did she take it?"

She nodded. "Well. She's not mad, like I thought she would be. It's just… memories of the past came up, during it."

Trunks more than understood it. Even long after the androids and Cell were defeated, he still had nightmares from what had occurred. The pain and sorrow never really went away – it only lessened, with time. He held her hand. Despite years of knowing each other, simple hand holding still made her blush. "No matter what, I'm here for you."

Mai smiled at him. "Thank you, Trunks." Daringly, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Trunks wrapped his arms around her, and rubbed her back up and down. She sighed, in contentment. She owed Trunks and Bulma so much. They were so kind and understanding – more than anyone she had ever met before. They owed her absolutely nothing, and still allowed her to stay with them. She never felt that loved in years. She silently thanked the Kais for being so merciful and forgiving towards her.

The pair heard Bulma coming back upstairs and reluctantly broke their embrace. She handed a case of capsules to Trunks. "These contain all the provisions for the refuges. Be careful out there, you two."

"I will, mother." He stood up to kiss her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, Trunks. And I love you, Mai."

Mai smiled, bashfully. "I love you too, Bulma."

Trunks grabbed her hand, and led her out of the remains of Capsule Corporation. Once they were out of the building, he looked down at her. "You sure you're okay?"

Mai leaned in closer to him. "I am, now." Now she knew for sure that she wasn't alone.


End file.
